Dutch PM in row with Kroes over EU constitution debate - by Mark Beunderman
Dutch commissioner Neelie Kroes has clashed with her country's prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende after she blamed the Dutch government for not contributing to the debate on EU institutional reform. The Dutch commissioner on Monday (9 October) held a speech in The Hague in which she strongly criticised the government for being silent on the future of Europe, after Dutch voters last year overwhelmingly rejected the EU constitution. Ms Kroes said that EU institutional reform has "no priority" for the Balkenende government of which her own liberal VVD party forms a part, according to Dutch daily De Telegraaf.
"Except from everyone asking me whether it is really true that there will be a paedophile party taking part in the elections, people are perplexed by the passive attitude of the Netherlands," she added. Comment EU-Digest: Ms Kroes "hit the nail on the head" with her comments. The Netherlands Government and opposition parties only seem interested in staring at their own navel, instead of being able to visualize how the Netherlands fits into the overall European picture.
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